The supervisors’ “yes” vote on free MUNI for youth comes from the heart, but that’s its problem too. It is an unfocused, unsystematic, goal-absent piece of legislation that panders to a portion of the electorate that likes to feel good about its imagined generosity. No serious thought to prioritization of revenues and spending. The supes and the rest of city government lack a commitment to MUNI’s long-term expansion of service, infrastructure build-out, and mechanical maintenance. This is what gives liberalism the stereotype of being all about tax and spend. No mature decisions about what to sacrifice and what to keep, what to pare and what to grow.

Isn’t the goal to provide free MUNI for youth? How much clearer can that get? Since the business model of MUNI can’t run on fares alone anyway (it’s a public service, not a business), I don’t really see how this is such a big problem to be making less money when the point is to provide service to the public. It’s not like they’re proposing to build a subway line that doesn’t even have a transfer with the other main lines…

Free muni for youth would require some adjustment, but it’s not like the alternative uses for any of MUNI’s money is ever focused, systematic, or goal-oriented.

As opposed to what? The conservative stereotype of borrow and spend? Every dollar of the Bush tax “cuts” was simply added to the debt owed by taxpayers. (Not to mention unfunded wars of choice.) No mature decisions about what to sacrifice and what to keep, what to pare and what to grow.

Anonymous

” It is an unfocused, unsystematic, goal-absent piece of legislation”
One of Muni’s strategic plan goals is to increase their ridership, in the end raising the current 38% transit mode share to 50%. I would say the Free Muni for Youth plan is right in line with that goal.
As for unfocused, unsystematic spending, this program might actually be the easiest way to increase ridership without cutting into revenues significantly, as the youth who will take advantage of this program would largely not have been using Muni already, meaning that there is less of a net profit loss by offering them free fares.
I don’t disagree that the plan is generous and philanthropic, but that doesn’t also mean that the plan is also inherently wasteful or nonstrategic.

Anonymous

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

–Benjamin Franklin

Tahoe

Pchazz – those under 18, the vast majority of those who benefit from this program – cannot vote.